Mom pleads not guilty to trying to drown baby

San Diego  A 22-year-old mother accused of trying to drown her baby girl in a bathtub in City Heights pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony charges.

The arraignment for Whitney Renee Holman had been scheduled for last month, shortly after Holman was arrested in connection with the May 10 incident. But that hearing was postponed, allowing a defense attorney time to consider entering an insanity plea.

When that did not happen Tuesday, San Diego Superior Court Judge David Szumowski kept Holman’s bail at $1 million and scheduled a July 3 status conference.

Defense attorney Pamela Lacher asked the judge to allow visitation between Holman, who is in county jail, and her daughter. Lacher said Holman is now on medication, which has made her “a totally different and more lucid individual.”

The judge denied the request, keeping a stay-away order in place.

Holman is charged with premeditated attempted murder and felony child abuse. If convicted, she faces a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Police said Holman called 911 the afternoon of the incident, drawing police and paramedics to an apartment complex on 42nd Street near University Avenue.

The girl, then 9 months old, was found unresponsive in the tub. The baby was taken to Rady Children’s Hospital.

Christy Turner, the defendant’s aunt, declined to comment Tuesday on the baby’s condition. She said outside the courtroom that Holman has a diagnosable mental illness and was not on medication at the time of the incident.

She said Holman had always been protective of her daughter.

Turner, who had a heated discussion with Lacher after the arraignment, said she and other family members did not want the defense attorney to continue representing Holman. She said Lacher had defended another family member on a previous case.

“Whitney is probably under the wrong impression, “ Turner said. “She’s not quite herself. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

Lasher declined to respond publicly to Turner’s comments. She said she is continuing to consider a mental illness defense, and Holman could still plead not guilty by reason of insanity.